Flipping Tradition: The Rise of Reverse-Set Gemstones in Jewellery

What happens when you take a gemstone and flip it on its head? In the world of fine jewellery, reverse-set gemstones are shaking things up. Instead of the typical smooth, polished surface we’re used to seeing, the reverse setting flips the gem, exposing its pointed side. This offers a fresh way to play with light, often bringing out a brilliance you wouldn’t expect from traditional settings.

It’s a bold move, but one that many jewellers have embraced. The reverse setting has grown beyond a quirky experiment into a fully-fledged design movement. Gems like diamonds and sapphires are now being flipped to show off their hidden angles. You might think this would take away some of their sparkle, but it’s actually the opposite: the light dances across the facets, creating a rich play of depth and colour. Let’s explore how jewellers are using reverse-set gems to redefine design.

Hemmerle: Pavé Mastery

Hemmerle has been flipping the script with reverse-set gemstones for more than 15 years. The magic behind the technique is all about letting the gemstone’s natural colours shine through. Christian Hemmerle says it best: “The brilliance becomes more intense, revealing a richer play of colours.”  Hemmerle’s designs take prompts from nature’s quirkiest elements and textures such as the spiky skin of a pineapple or the spikiness of succulents. The pieces manage to feel both cutting-edge and timeless. Let’s take a look at its sapphire and garnet earrings in 18k white gold. The top sphere, encrusted with reverse-set garnets, creates a textured, sparkling surface. Below, reverse-set purple sapphires add drama, letting the light dance off their sharp angles.

Ara Vartanian: Sharp Style 

Another brand using reverse-set gemstones is Ara Vartanian, founded in São Paulo, Brazil. Ara Vartanian’s designs often use bold, unconventional settings, turning tradition on its head by showcasing gemstones in a whole new way. The three-finger ring with inverted black diamonds is a perfect example of this. Made from 18k white and yellow gold, this piece uses reverse-set diamonds to create a spiked, edgy look reminiscent of a knuckle duster. The design not only highlights the raw beauty of the diamonds but also adds an unmistakable sense of power to the piece.

Pragnell: Reverse Rock ‘n’ Roll

If you’ve ever dreamed of wearing your attitude on your sleeve, Pragnell’s RockChic collection might just be your new best friend. The defining feature of the range is reverse-set diamonds, showcasing the sharp underside of the stones, which adds a striking angularity to each piece. Designs like the princess-cut diamond bangle and kite-cut hoop earrings perfectly illustrate the collection’s aesthetic. Through layering or as stand-alone pieces, the RockChic collection is the ideal way to inject some reverse-set gemstones into your rocker wardrobe.

Hugo Cahill: Artistic Alchemy

Hugo Cahill isn’t afraid to take risks when it comes to gemstone settings. His approach to reverse-set stones is more than a quirky design choice, it’s about capturing the raw character of each gem. Take one of his standout pieces, for example, a ring that pairs diamonds with a 3.05-carat trillion-cut peridot. This peridot, which comes from Pakistan, is unique thanks to a ‘lily pad’ inclusion, a natural feature that gives the gem an extra dose of charm and personality.

Cahill surrounds the central stone with reverse-set diamonds, positioning them so their pointed sides are on display, creating a striking effect as they catch and reflect light. “It’s not just about the look,” he explains, “it’s about letting the gem shine in its most authentic form.” His technique brings a sense of movement to the piece, turning what could be a simple ring into something truly special.

Staurino: Blooming Bling  

Staurino is all about mixing classic Italian craftsmanship with a modern twist, and the Tulip bracelet really captures that spirit. It’s like a little garden for your wrist, with colourless and silver-grey diamonds, pink sapphires, emeralds, and two pink tourmalines coming together to form a stunning floral design. The gems aren’t just set in any old way, Staurino uses reverse pavé, catching light in a way that makes everything look extra sparkly and fresh.

The bracelet’s design is truly eye-catching. The pink sapphires shift in colour from a gentle blush to deep magenta, giving the tulip petals a realistic, almost hand-painted look. The way the diamonds and sapphires cover the petals makes them seem like they’re blooming open, while the emeralds add a leafy, natural touch that wraps around your wrist like a vine.

Nam Cho: Sleek and Sophisticated

Nam Cho brings a fresh twist to reverse-set gemstones, pairing bold design with a minimalist edge. Her approach to this technique shines through in her latest piece, a pair of ball earrings in 18k white gold and black rhodium. These aren’t your typical earrings as they feature a mix of emeralds, reverse-set diamonds, and sapphires in a way that really makes each stone pop. It’s a choice that really highlights the sapphires’ natural glow. Meanwhile, the deep green of the emeralds against the cool blue tones creates a striking visual contrast, while the diamonds add just the right amount of sparkle to make everything come together.

Bear Brooksbank: Wild Inspiration

Bear Brooksbank has a true talent for infusing her jewellery with stories, often drawing from her experiences with nature. A perfect example is her Bear Claw ring, which features a striking 4.98-carat reverse-set black diamond, designed to symbolise the North Star. The diamond is set with its pointed side facing outward, creating a bold and dramatic effect that’s impossible to miss. “The idea for the Bear Claw ring came to me after I saw a wild black bear as a child in Germany,” she shares, showing just how personal the inspiration behind the piece is.

Crafted from 18k yellow gold, the ring is designed to mimic the fierce grip of claws holding the diamond in place, which gives it a raw, untamed feel. The shoulders of the ring are adorned with pavé-set black diamonds, adding layers of texture that match its mysterious and dark character. It’s a design that mixes the raw power of nature with precise craftsmanship, capturing Brooksbank’s signature style and shaped by the energy and edge of East London’s gritty, urban scene.

Mattioli: Spikes and Sparkle

Italian Maison Mattioli is dedicated to injecting colour into daily life, and it uses jewellery to do so. The brand is known for its use of bright gemstones such as sapphires, rubies, and emeralds and for setting them in reverse to make the colour shine even more! One of Mattioli’s hero pieces is its REVE_R ring which is made in 18k rose gold and titanium and features 20.42-carats of black and white diamonds and 1.25-carats of amethysts. The pointed gemstones create a three-dimensional sculptural effect, bound to turn some heads.

It’s not every day that you see jewellery designers willing to break away from tradition, but that’s exactly what’s happening with reverse-set gemstones. This technique literally turns the usual way of setting stones upside down and brings a fresh, edgy feel to the world of fine jewellery. By turning the pointed side of the stones outward, designers are finding new ways to play with light and colour, creating pieces that feel daring yet refined. It’s proof that sometimes, shaking things up a little is the best way to keep things interesting.